On November 11th, 7-9pm, at 7 WTC, Fearful Brains in an Anxious World: An Evening with Joseph LeDoux. It's part of NYU's Public Lecture Series. Mr. LeDoux is a science professor at the university and is the author of The Emotional Brain and Synaptic Self. The talk is on "how neural processes shape who we are and what we think, feel, and remember."

On September 17th, 8pm, the 92nd St. Y hosts The Rothschild Lecture: Richard Holbrooke and Winston Lord — Focus on China. Vishaka Desai, president of Asia Society, moderates.

Take in The Art Scene: Fall 2008 at NYU, starting October 2nd for 10 sessions. You'll check out galleries and museums throughout the city, artists' spaces, and discuss art in societal context. $430.

Starting September 3rd at the New School: The Sociology of Race in the United States. "This course examines the social construction of race, how it has been lived variably in time and space, and how its effects have aligned with intersecting social logics to produce injustice." $570, 15 sessions.

Times foreign correspondent Dexter Filkins and Robin Wright (Dreams and Shadows: The Future of the Middle East) discuss The Prospect for Peace in the Middle East, moderated by Steven Erlanger, former NY Times Jerusalem bureau chief and its current Paris bureau chief. October 7th, 6pm, at TheTimesCenter, $30.

Author and scientist Jeffrey Bennett takes you Beyond UFOs, October 20th, 7:30pm at the Hayden Planetarium. He'll talk about the possibility of intelligent life elsewhere and what it would mean if we found it. $15.

Tickets don't go on sale until September 5th, but fans of Toni Morrison will want to make a point of getting them that day for her appearance as part of the NY Public Library's Live from the NYPL series, November 12th.

Come see The Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra at Radio City Music Hall on August 21st at 8pm. The evening will be led by conductor, Keith Lockhart with selections from "West Side Story", "Candide", "Wonderful Town" and an overall tribute to Leonard Bernstein. Also, don't miss a special performance by TONY Award winner Brian Stokes Mitchell.